Teemu Selanne gets tear-filled salute by players, fans in final NHL game (Video)
He’s played 1,451 regular season games in the NHL and another 129 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He’s scored 684 regular-season goals, 11th all-time in the NHL, and 44 in the playoffs.
He’s Teemu Selanne. He’s a legend. And the Anaheim Ducks’ Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night was his final National Hockey League game, as he announced before the season.
Selanne skated 14:02 for the game and was a minus-1 with three shots on goal. He finished the postseason with two goals in 11 games.
Here’s the teary-eyed farewell to Selanne by the Ducks, Kings and fans after the handshake line:
Selanne did his best to downplay Game 7 as his final game, even declining to speak to the media leading up to the contest.
“All the distractions, you put them aside,” Selanne told the LA Times this week after lifting his media silence. “I didn’t want anyone to ask me about my last game. It’s not about that. All the focus should be on this game, and only this game.”
This might be the end of Selanne and the NHL, but he might resurface with Jokerit, his former Finnish team, in its first KHL season.
And hey, the Olympics are a scant four years away; Teemu Forever?
But for NHL fans, this is the end for one of the most exciting, dedicated and universally beloved players in League history.
Farewell, Teemu, and thanks.
